‘Picker’ opens store on West 12th Street

An interest in “treasure” hunting and repurposing pieces of history is the foundation for a new business.

Dan Larson started Julz Woodworking, Antiques and Thrift Store earlier this summer in an old barber shop near 22nd Street and Cliff Avenue, but he moved the busines last month into the former Ernie November building at 1801 W. 12th St. He’s in the process of remodeling the larger space, but the store is open.

Larson considers himself a “picker” and has been buying antique, vintage and rummage items for more than a decade and selling them through Facebook as a sideline venture to his work as a carpenter and also as a stagehand at the Denny Sanford Premier Center. With his house, garage and yard full of items, “My girlfriend told me, ‘It’s time to do this.’ ”

The 1,000-square-foot store is packed with everything from old bicycles and vinyl records to jewelry and kitchenware. Some of the items are marked with prices, but even those amounts aren’t firm.

“I like to barter. I like that whole process.”

Larson plans to rent out bays to other antique dealers, pickers and makers. The business also is a farmers market of sorts, selling sweet corn, other produce, honey and canned goods, depending on the season.

As a carpenter, Larson enjoys taking reclaimed wood, turning it into furniture and selling those pieces. Recently, he spent several days salvaging wood and other building materials at the Lacey farm near Washington High School. He’s planning to build a display wall in the store that will feature the different types of wood that customers can buy for their own projects.

He keeps larger items, such as agricultural and industrial pieces, on property outside of Sioux Falls and finds buyers by posting photographs on his Facebook page.

He’s hoping to re-create a version of “The Giving Tree” that he had at the Cliff Avenue location. Larson placed items around a tree on the property and invited people to take what they wanted for free. The new location doesn’t have a tree, so he’s pondering an alternative.

Larson said he is building a customer base by listening to what people collect and then finding items for them.

“They love that. I’m like their personal treasure hunter.”

The store is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, but Larson said he’s usually there by 9 a.m.